The Under Presents

Where immersive theater meets VR. An intriguing multiplayer experience set between two worlds: a jaunty vaudeville stage and the harrowing survival narrative. Uncover the story of a ship stranded in time as supplies dwindle and day-by-day an otherworldly mist rolls closer. Follow characters’ interlocking fates as all journeys forward must turn back or become lost.

The Under Presents is a virtual reality experience created by  Tender Claws in collaboration with Piehole. It is a multiplayer experience set between two worlds: an absurdist vaudeville stage in an upturned ship (the titular "Under"), and a harrowing survival narrative set inside a time anomaly.

Piehole curated the Under stage, commissioning and co-developing VR acts with brilliant artists from our NYC performance communities, as well as writing and performing some of our own, and working alongside Carter on visual design. We also contributed writing, both in traditional "writers room" format, and using our generative improvisational practice. In addition, Piehole was responsible for casting, motion capture, and voice acting for the game's NPCs (non-player characters). Piehole members originated the game's  live actor encounters at Sundance 2019. The Under Presents was released on Oculus Quest in Spring of 2019 and on Steam in April 2020.

Think of it as a full single-player time loop based experience with multiplayer components as a layer on top of it. There's exploration, puzzles, and narrative elements. For the two years following launch, The Under occasionally featured live roving performers. There are not currently live actors performing in The Under. Just like any theater show, The Under has live performance runs. Our most recent run was from April 1 - June 19, 2022. Outside of live actor runs, The Under still works as a fully featured multiplayer experience.